In my mind Jones is the first generational talent (I don't ascribe to the HockeyFuture idea of a generational talent as only Crosby, Gretzky, Lidstrom, Roy etc, I'd say there's 2-3 generational talents every 10 years) since Pronger and only the third since 1980 (Coffey) to come out of the CHL. Oleksiak with a strong partner like Jones could become one of the best pairings in the NHL, if not the best.

I would not trade Dallas' 2014 pick though. If we finish top 5 this season, we won't be much better next and I'd love a chance to get Willy Nylander, Sam Reinhart or Aaron Ekblad. I'd do something like 5th overall, Boston 1st/2nd, Dallas 2nd, Vancouver 2nd and a prospect (Like Chiasson or Nemeth) for 1st overall though.

I think they'd have to pay through the nose for Jones and quite frankly if Colorado has that pick they won't budge. They need maybe even more than we do. Their defense is crap outside of EJ and he's not been the franchise defenseman they thought they were getting.

Monahan seems like the safe pick you take at 7 when Barkov and Lindholm are gone. He may be more than that but he doesn't scream homerun to me.

I'd rather add a prospect plus Boston's 1st and maybe one of the 2nds to move up into the teens to get Riestolian in addition to whatever forward they get.

I think they can get to 15 or so. Depends on where Boston's pick is and if it's a team like Columbus that has a little flexibility to move back or may want a prospect they can keep or use to flip for something else.

I think they can get to 15 or so. Depends on where Boston's pick is and if it's a team like Columbus that has a little flexibility to move back or may want a prospect they can keep or use to flip for something else.

Let me ask this which would you rather have.

Jones, no Boston pick, and one less Dallas pick in the 2nd round.

Barkov, Petan, all three 2nd round picks?

I actually like option #2. Its all speculation but solid 5 prospects (including 2 high ones) sounds better to me than 1 lock and 2 late 2nds. Sort of like a better version of MTL last year...I never know what I'm talking about though so I feel nervous just saying that

I actually like option #2. Its all speculation but solid 5 prospects (including 2 high ones) sounds better to me than 1 lock and 2 late 2nds. Sort of like a better version of MTL last year...I never know what I'm talking about though so I feel nervous just saying that

Quantity over quality is never a sill argument when you're talking about 17 and 18 year old hockey players.

There's a reason teams work hard to acquire as many picks as possible. That was a very good point to bring up.

With the wealth of talent Dallas has at defense now, I just don't think trading up for Jones makes any sort of sense. Is he a great player? Absolutely. Jamie Benn though, just is not an elite, true #1 center in today's NHL. I understand that he's our best player and everybody loves him. Let's not get too into him though and project past what his actual talent level is. It's not even his natural position! He's definitely a fantastic player though. Why not try getting the most you possibly can out of him for production? Only way to do that is throw him on the wing.

Monahan would be a great pickup for sure. If I'm trading up for anybody though, it's McKinnon.

Whatever you think of Benn, he's a lot closer to being a top end #1 center than any of our d-men prospects are to being top end #1 caliber. IMO the only guy they should be trading that high up for is Jones. I'd rather them try and trade up from hopefully Boston's 1st into the teens if Ristolainen is still around.

Or they could get lucky, win the lottery, and not have to worry about trading up.

Here's an interesting scenario to think about. Say Dallas does win the lottery, and whoever is in the top 5-6 behind us wants that pick. Would you trade it to get the massive amount of return that it would command?

Here's an interesting scenario to think about. Say Dallas does win the lottery, and whoever is in the top 5-6 behind us wants that pick. Would you trade it to get the massive amount of return that it would command?

I'd certainly consider it.

Not with the position this team is in. They have a ton of depth among their prospects, but they are missing that one true stud guy.

Depends on what's offered. I wouldn't trade out beyond the 6th pick and I'd demand another 1st plus a 2nd or a legit top twenty prospect. Let's say Phoenix drops to 6th would you trade the 1st overall for the 6th overall, 36th overall and Brandon Gormley?

I'm not sure I do that. I'd consider moving from 4th back to 6th if it still gets them a legit center and another high 2nd they could then use to move up and grab Ristolian or Erne in the teens.

Depends on what's offered. I wouldn't trade out beyond the 6th pick and I'd demand another 1st plus a 2nd or a legit top twenty prospect. Let's say Phoenix drops to 6th would you trade the 1st overall for the 6th overall, 36th overall and Brandon Gormley?

I'm not sure I do that. I'd consider moving from 4th back to 6th if it still gets them a legit center and another high 2nd they could then use to move up and grab Ristolian or Erne in the teens.

How big a gap is there between Barkov and Monahan?

Holy **** yes. I love Jones, but Gormley + Barkov is exactly what this team needs.

If we could trade down from 1 to like 3-5, I think I would take the return. If its another top prospect and a top 5 pick, hell yeah im taking it in a draft this deep. Would you rather have Jones or Mackinnon/Drouin/Bakrov + someone like Bjugstad or Murphy + maybe even another pick

Im not sure if the first is actually worth that package or if I just have my HFblinders on, but if thats the return im down